SXSW: Chvrches

Wednesday, 12:30 a.m. @ Red 7 Patio

Up and coming Glasgow three-piece Chvrches have songs. Good ones. And quite a few. Several of the songs they played last night are not yet released, and they sounded like the types of tracks many people could volunteer to listen to many times. Some of the packed crowd already knew most of the words to singles "Recover" and "The Mother We Share". And with their upcoming LP due out this fall on Glassnote (Phoenix, Mumford & Sons), it should get the chance it deserves to find an even more rapt audience. (While Red 7's outdoor space was full during the Windish Agency's showcase, most of the assembled seemed about as interested in their own conversations as they were with the band onstage).

But still, Chvrches are not ready for prime time just yet. Singer Lauren Mayberry is gifted with an expressive singing voice and a fine, simple taste for melody, but at this show she didn't seem totally convinced of her own talents. For most of the night, she was front and center, flanked by her two keyboard-pushing bandmates. But she may have looked more comfortable on the one track in which she played keys herself while Martin Doherty took the center of the stage. Doherty's voice is much less distinctive than Mayberry's, though his intensity, his in-the-moment-ness was superior. The hard part is pretty much done: Chvrches have the right songs. Now it's time to make them really connect live.